In 2017 Chinese tourists made 130 million trips abroad and spent $115.29 billion. 2018 numbers will be bigger.
In 2017 Chinese tourists made 130 million trips abroad and spent $115.29 billion. 2018 numbers will be bigger. Chinese tourists and health/medical tourists have become the key target for many countries.
For Chinese tourists, traveling abroad has become more accessible, a factor that can be attributed to increasing average income levels. The medium and long-term trend indicates continued growth that will affect transport, retail, medical and hospitality in many countries.
In 2018 Chinese tourists’ favourite destinations (Korea, Japan and Thailand) will see larger numbers. Expectations for European destinations remain strong, thanks to several campaigns for EU-China tourism in 2018.
In the first four months of 2018, Chinese arrivals in Europe were up 9.5% compared to 2017 and forward bookings for the period May-August are currently 7.9% ahead. The top destinations are Germany, up 7.9% and France, up 11.4%. In terms of growth, the top destinations are Turkey, up 74.1%, Ukraine, up 27% and Hungary, up 15.2%.
A study by Morgan Stanley Research highlights that the increasing outbound tourism of the Chinese is due to transport and tourism mobility having increased because of the addition of new direct flights. Restrictions and requirements for visas have also been readjusted, and the online application process has been improved, removing obstacles to promote tourism abroad. As a result of these actions, the number of Chinese citizens with valid passports has more than tripled from 2012 to 2016.
According to Morgan Stanley’s study, over 35% of the Chinese population registered middle or upper middle class income levels in 2016 (compared to the 10% in 2015).
Forecasts suggest that thanks to growing outbound tourism more than 12 million Chinese tourists will arrive in Europe by 2022.
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